Spaghetti with Mascarpone, Meyer Lemon, Spinach, and Hazelnuts

I rarely order pasta when dining out.....mainly because the pasta portions restaurants serve are g-normous. Who could eat all that? But making it at home is a different matter. With dishes like this, you have control over portion size and while I am not a huge pasta eater, now and then I like to make easy pasta recipes. One of my favorites is Ina Garten's summer pasta, which I posted recently. And now I've found another, perfect for one or two. While we prefer the nutty taste of whole wheat pasta in my family, this recipe caught my eye and I bought regular spaghetti to make it. Makes for a prettier presentation with the mascarpone sauce. It was lemony and altogether fabulous. Love the crunch from the hazelnuts.


Spaghetti with Mascarpone, Meyer Lemon, Spinach, and Hazelnuts
Slightly adapted from The Kitchn

Ingredients:
1 Meyer lemon, zested and juiced (about 3 tablespoons juice) 
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of fresh pepper
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 pound spaghetti
5 cups (loosely packed) fresh spinach, washed, spun dry, and roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped, toasted hazelnuts

Method:
Combine the zest, lemon juice, mascarpone, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg in a bowl. Whisk to combine.

Bring a pot of water to boil and salt generously. Cook the pasta until al dente, taking it off the heat about 1 to 2 minutes before you would normally remove it. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Return the pasta to the pot, and set over low heat. Stir in the mascarpone sauce. Add the spinach and toss so that the spinach begins to wilt. If you need to, add some pasta water to keep the sauce somewhat fluid. (I didn't) Continue to cook and toss until the spinach is cooked. Add the hazelnuts and stir to combine. Serve immediately.
Serves two.

Strawberry Balsamic Goat Cheese Bars

Don't you love fresh strawberries? And they're absolutely delicious right now. If you're picking them yourself, the warmth of the sun makes them so sweet, you eat them as fast as you pick them, barely able to fill up your container. Once home, there are so many options for serving, from desserts to salads and salsas. Start with a simple dessert: dip them in dark brown sugar and sour cream...an old favorite of mine. Or try the recipe my MIL served frequently in the summer: Strawberries Romanoff.

With my last batch, I made certain I had enough strawberries left to make this bar....so many flavors to tempt your palate. The recipe was adapted from a Better Homes & Gardens raspberry bar recipe, and was the result of a trip to a California strawberry farm by Gerry from Foodness Gracious, where all sorts of strawberry recipe possibilities were explored. I hadn't seen the original raspberry bar recipe, so loved the idea of using goat cheese along with cream cheese. Gerry, besides substituting strawberries for raspberries, added some fresh basil to the cookie layer, which made the bars even more tasty. Rosemary would be even better. I've used that herb in my crusts quite often.
Super summer dessert.

Strawberry Balsamic Goat Cheese Bars
From Foodness Gracious

Ingredients for the base:
1 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped finely

Ingredients for the filling:
3 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and halved, quartered if big
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon balsamic glaze (I just used some high quality balsamic vinegar)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
4 ounces chevre goat cheese
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 large egg plus 1 yolk
Zest of two lemons
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 13x9x2 baking pan with foil, leaving enough hanging over the sides to lift out after baking.
In a mixer, beat the butter until soft. Add the brown sugar and salt and mix until combined. On low speed, add the flour and the basil. Mix just until the dough comes together.
Break the dough into clumps and spread over the base of the baking tray with your hands, making it as even as you can. Bake for about 20 mins or until just turning golden brown.

Prepare the strawberries:
Add the butter to a saute pan over medium heat. The add the strawberries, sugar and balsamic and toss to coat the fruit.
Cook for about 10-12 minutes and the mixture has turned thicker. Set aside.

Beat the cream cheese and goat cheese together until soft. Add the white sugar and tablespoon of flour and mix well.
With the mixer running, add the egg, egg yolk, zest, lemon juice and vanilla.
Beat until smooth.
When the base has baked, drizzle most of the strawberry pan liquid over it. Pour the strawberries into the cheese mixture and gently fold once or twice. Not too much as you want it to look marbled.
Pour the whole mixture over the base evenly.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes and set in the middle. Let cool for at least one hour before storing in the fridge for another hour. Slice into squares with a sharp knife and dust well with powdered sugar.

Coconut Rice Pudding with Raspberries

Rice pudding was always my father's favorite dessert. He liked it with raisins and always mixed soft butter with brown sugar and cinnamon and loaded it on top of his pudding....letting it melt all through. I know, calories, calories. But he lived to his mid 90's and weighed himself every morning of his life. 

                                                                                      Dad and I, Ft. Lauderdale, 1954

So while I wanted to make rice pudding in his honor for Father's Day, I decided not to use my mother's recipe but make a more contemporary version with fresh raspberries and coconut. 
No, I have no plans on adding brown sugar and butter to this! :)

Happy Father's Day to all the great dads out there. I sure miss mine!


Coconut Rice Pudding with Raspberries
Martha Stewart Living, June 2013 issue

Ingredients for the rice:
1/2 cup short grain rice, washed well
3/4 cup water

Ingredients for the puddings:
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split and scrapped
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 pint ripe or overripe raspberries
1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes, toasted, for garnish

Method for cooking rice:
Place rice and water in a small pot with tight lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat but keep lid on. Let rice steam for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Cool.

Method for Pudding:
Preheat oven to 325 and bring a kettle of water to boil. Whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large bowl. Add coconut, half and half, coconut milk and cooked and cooled rice. Divide mixture among ramekins in a roasting pan. Pour hot water to reach half way up the sides. Bake 20 minutes, then stir to distribute rice evenly. Divide raspberries among the puddings. Bake until puddings are set and barely wobbley. 18 to 20 minutes more. Cool a little, and garnish with coconut flakes.